The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Basic, but fun all the same

Licensed games (and movie tie-ins, in particular) are a minefield of mediocrity, writes Simon Bishop.

 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

From: Beenox

For: PS4, XB1, 360, PS3, Wii U

Three stars (out of five)

At the time of writing, I haven't seen The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but from what I hear it's good.

Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) exits a store, fails to intervene in a crime in progress, which leads to the death of his beloved Uncle Ben.

Fast forward a few years and Peter looks for revenge against the guy who killed him, which drags him into a battle against various criminals and super villains.

Pretty standard superhero fare, really.

As you'd expect, your main weapons of choice in your fight against these troublemakers are Spidey's webs, kicking and punching.

Batman Arkham City uses pretty much the same formula, and it is brilliant.

Unfortunately, the AI for the bad guys in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not up to the same standard, and the whole experience lacks the visceral, brutal feel that the Arkham City has.

The henchmen feel like a speed bump rather than a genuinely fearsome foe.

But it's not all beating up dudes!

You are set free in the concrete canyon that is Manhattan to swing through to your heart's content, and this is where the game shines, albeit temporarily.

Using the shoulder buttons you alternate hands to fire web from, and once you get some momentum going, you are more speeding bullet than Spider-Man.

That is, until you meet one of the many skyscrapers.

It seems like an odd thing to mention, but it's very hard to stop in this game.

Trying to collect the comic book pages (of which there are 300!) can be rather frustrating as it's difficult to make subtle adjustments while web slinging.

It's got two speeds: stopped and warp speed overdrive.

As well as the numerous collectables, there are random crime events that take place throughout the city, and there's a twist this time around: if you choose to ignore them, they'll vanish and you'll be considered a villain in the eyes of the community and the police.

This sounds OK in principle, but you'll face situations where there are multiple crimes happening, and no matter what you do you're going to end up being considered a villain. All it does is discourage you from exploring - if you want to remain a hero, that is.

You know what, though, the game is fun.

When you're not peeling your latex suit off the side of a building, the swinging is heaps of fun, the combat may not be deep but kicking butt never gets old, and while the graphics are workmanlike, they do the trick.

All in all, this game tells the tale of ''The (Occasionally) Amazing Spider-Man''.

- Simon Bishop